My Baby's a DIY-er! I'm So Proud!

We were driving through the neighborhood two Saturdays ago, when we saw a yard sale that was "done". As many yard salers will do, this one had placed non-selling items (read: crap) for free at the end of their driveway.

One of these items happened to be a desk. Bonnie has been begging for a desk for her room for at least a year, if not longer. More persistently in the past year, since we haven't been preparing to sell our house or move. These things make a difference, no?

So my sister, who was visiting for the wedding, helped me load said desk into the car. It didn't really fit. Since we were only a block away from home, we let it stick out of the side of the car. The kids, in particular, thought this really funny.

Once it was unloaded, it had to sit in the garage for a week while we dealt with the remains of the wedding stuff and partied for Bonnie's birthday. Then Bonnie got to sanding.

Her dad gave her a demonstration and left her to it. When she started, she was smiling:

When she finished the desk, though, she wasn't too excited about doing the drawers. She was also not excited that I wouldn't let her start painting. There was some serious splintering going on around the base of the desk, so we needed to putty it and allow it to dry. This was going much slower than Bonnie wanted to go. She did two of the four sides, then I finished it up later that day. Why not help her out? After all, it is her first major reno project.

She was pretty happy to be priming the next day - look how proud she is over her first painted drawer!

And the desk is primed. It did take her a day or two.

Then we had to decide on color. She wanted a serious purple, and gave me her favorite nail polish as a color sample. The photos here look a little more blue than this thing is in person, but you can tell it's a pretty vibrant color.

Here you can see all the drawers done, too.

Next came hardware. Bonnie really wanted a special order fish handle (not like the "I just caught a 52-pound halibut" handle - although that was an option - but more like the "Little Mermaid" fishies). I pointed out that this desk did not need us to spend $40 on hardware, and she went with a style that was more traditional, but that still had some bling to it.

She really likes how the silver complements the purple. Here she is, screwing in the drawer handles:

And the desk is now complete. Go, Bonnie!

The pose doesn't do much for me, but she thought it was funny. The desk is pretty, no? I'm soooo proud. So is she, by the way.

Doug: Slacker?

While I've been busy, you might be wondering...has Doug been doing anything?

Of course he has. Just not necessarily in the house. He did start a new job about three weeks ago, after all.

There has been some work around the house, though (if not actually in the house). He has fixed our tractor (also known as the riding lawnmower). He bought it from a neighbor in South Carolina that fixed up used John Deere tractors as a hobby. It worked great when he bought it, but with one thing or another, it hasn't worked much since then. Most of the problems have been attributed to Bonnie putting water in the gas tank - although I think that she got blamed for way more than could be traced to that one incident.

It looks nice and innocent in the garage, but I have had some major unhappy thoughts in that machine's direction over the past three years. Doug told me at one point that the tractor was only for giving kids rides, and not necessarily for mowing the lawn. Which ticked me off, since the lawn was looking abysmal. At any rate, it's working again. Sigh of relief.

So what was its problem? There was a lot of electrical problems. See? Can't be traced to water in the gas tank. You're off the hook for this one, Bonnie.

Doug has also been working on his mill. Another South Carolina purchase, it was a "steal" that has languished in one garage or another for years. It is now painted and starting to look respectable. Doug even says that soon, very soon, it will work.

So see? He has been a very busy boy. And I didn't even mention the garden.

What's Bloomin'

Not much new this week...but two varieties of my Black-Eyed Susans did pop up!

This one has more of a green eye, and is actually named Irish Eyes...

Although the green eyes do turn a murky brown later in the summer, they are kind of fun when they open. And here's the traditional Black-Eyed Susan.

I guess my garden needs a little more summer variety. Ah, well, I'll work on that in the fall. Hope you have a great week!

A Banner Day for Bargains (Yahoo!)

Today did not start well.

I was literally so exhausted from a busy week that I slept from 8 pm last night until 10:30 am this morning. What did we do this week? Swimming, library, hike, swimming, family pictures (which reminded me why I never get formal portraits done), father-daughter kickball game, candy factory tour (oooh, fresh taffy!), swimming, and lots of managing children to do their chores. Whew!

So Doug was in charge this morning. The kids seem to really push his buttons, and this week he is especially touchy (might have been the family pictures that set him off). By the time I had finally gotten up and showered (around 11:30 am), he was grunting instead of talking. Not a good sign. So I made him take me out for lunch. We both needed a serious break from children.

After lunch, we were a little more relaxed and ready to shop. Harbor Freight Tools was our first stop. There we found a kit that Doug needed and staples to further my reupholstering project (yes, I'm still working on it!). Better yet: on the way to lunch, I had found a 20% off coupon for Harbor Freight, so Doug's $90 kit (that was already on sale) was only $55! Ah, love a good deal.

Then we split up. He went to look at machinery. Just to look. At a store where most of the used stuff sells for near or at the price for new versions of The Same Thing. Why do stores do that? Because they can get away with it, I guess. Anyway, he found a gem tucked away in the back corner: a Rockwell joiner for $140. Then he talked the guy down to $125. Sweeeet!

Testing out the new joiner once we got home

Me? I was in Deseret Industries, sort of a Goodwill in the western states. Where I found...a couch in need of reupholstering. I know, I know. What am I, a glutton for punishment? Why, yes. Yes, I am. It has taken almost a year to get one chair almost finished. However! This is the perfect silhouette for the front room. For about six months now, I've been wondering where I could find a slightly rounded, smaller couch.

The behemoth that is currently in state in our front room really needs to be deep-sixed, but we'll leave that for another day.

So the couch I found fit the bill. Perfectly. Especially considering that it was only $25. Sold.

And there I sat, wondering when Doug was going to join me. Eventually, he did, and we paid for the new couch. And Doug gave me a tag for something else, which cost $30. Seriously, something that cost more than my couch? How were we going to fit the couch and this other thing in the car? Doug just gave me a sheepish look and refused to tell me what it was.

We pulled the car around to get the couch, and as I opened the back of the car, I was met by...the joiner. Doug gave me another sheepish look, and told me the story. After rejoicing with him, I said, "Okay, but I really don't know what a joiner does."

Bless him for not giving me any sort of look as he explained that a joiner makes a straight edge. When you buy boards from the store, they aren't necessarily straight. A table saw will perpetuate whatever edge it has - so if you want it straight, you either use a hand planer (lots of time and energy, especially on long boards) or a joiner (easy and perfect edges). Which means: Doug can make furniture much more easily now. Serious rejoicing ensued.

Back to the couch, we moved it on top of the joiner. They fit (amazingly enough) and I worriedly wondered about that other, $30 item. Doug went in to get it, leaving me to stew.

Finally, they came out with...lathe tools. Mind you, we don't actually own a lathe. However, these are professional-grade tools, a complete set, for...$30. Yes, I know I already said that. Doug was thrilled - because he didn't just grab them after we paid (which is what we were supposed to do), and waited until after the couch was loaded, one of the guys helping us remembered that there was another piece that was supposed to go with the set. The set Doug bought had six pieces, but we left with seven.

Ah, the gods of shopping were looking out for us today!


Anyone else have a fabulous shopping adventure lately? Share, share!

Removing (Yet Another) Eyesore

Today it's the mailbox. And we're not really removing the mailbox, just removing the eyesore portion of it. Although, to be honest, it probably needs a total replacement job. I'm just not up for it quite yet.

Granted, the mailbox is far enough away from the house, you might not even know it is our's. You could make someone lunch in the time it takes them to walk out and retrieve the day's mail. It is, however, the first mailbox you see as you drive down our street.

Next to our neighbor's pristine mailbox...

Closeup on the nastiness

One of the not-so-great benefits of living on a corner: everyone sees your home and your unsightly mailbox first. Not a fantastic impression, by any means.

I took a go at the mailbox a month or so ago with stickers. It transformed the mailbox, but not in a good way. I was hoping for "rusty to funky" and instead got "rusty to white trash". Not what I was going for, I promise.

This idea just didn't work

Enter spray paint. Again. I know, I know, I really got to get myself some other hobbies other than spray painting anything that annoys me. Well, almost anything that annoys me - none of my family members have yet to be spray painted (on purpose, anyway).

The other mailbox and even the tree needed masking, so I used our drop cloth. I highly recommend getting a nice canvas drop cloth if you paint on a regular basis - and by regular, I mean more than once a year. It comes in handy for many projects - for drywalling, painting, kid crafts, hiding Christmas presents...oh yes, it's a nice thing to have about the house. In addition to the drop cloth, I also used painter's tape on the flag (which probably still needs painting). And - voila! - a decent mailbox.

Ahhhh, crisp and white!

I'm still trying to decide what I'm going to put on it (other than our house numbers). Maybe I'll skip being creative, since it is really soooo far from the house. And just leave it respectable.

Oh. No. You. Didn't.

Oh, yes I did!

Spray paint, after all, is for more than just fixing up furniture and bikes and whatnot. It's also a great thing for refreshing flowers. Seriously!  After all, it's just like any girl getting her hair dyed or her nails painted. Maybe a little more unexpected, is all.

The globe alliums in my front yard were looking a little peckish:

So I splurged and bought a $5 can of purple spray paint. And now, voila!

They look pretty much like they did when they were in bloom:

Okay, the spray painted version is a little more vibrant. Which is totally okay with me! Unfortunately, the shriveled leaves around the base of the flower are going to remain brown (if the shape isn't holding up, why bother spray painting them?). Definitely need to plant some ground cover there to help with that. Next year.

Now what's in bloom? It is Monday, after all...and the Campanula Bells have opened:

I've got white and purple. This one looks like the bugs have been at it, but it's still really pretty...

The cilantro is in bloom, too! I know, these blooms need to be cut off so we can continue enjoying the herb itself. All of my cilantro was volunteer this year, though, because I didn't cut the flowers off last year. I love free seeds. So maybe I'll only cut about half of it back.

The white lavender is also blooming. I love the shape and flower of a lavender, but man, do I hate the smell. There are many, many people who love the smell (including many in my family), so I just plant it a little farther from the house and enjoy it from behind a camera.

My lilies also surprised me this week with a bright red flower.

Malena was complaining that we didn't have any blue flowers, so I pointed out that the forget-me-nots have also bloomed:

And although they are small, they did appease her. Doesn't she realize how rare a true blue flower is? Really.

Next week, we should have some black-eyed susans! Hope you have a good week (and that you stay cool!).

Bonnie Blue: 12!

Well, our first baby is turning twelve today. To honor the occasion, I thought it was time for a photo gallery of the lovely Bonnie:

2000 (3 months)

2001 (11 months)

2002 (23 months)

2003 (3 years)

The shirt says it all: 2004 (4 years)
Bonnie on the left, Malena on the right,
shirts courtesy of Aunt DeEstie

I'm not exactly sure why I don't have digital pictures of Bonnie from 2005 until 2007...but picking up there:

2008 (8 years old)

2009 (9 years old)

2010 (10 years old)

2011 (11 years old) holding Sophia

We love you, Bonnie!

The Wrong Wreath

Well, after living with that wreath on the front door for a few days, I can say that it is the wrong wreath for that door.

It did look pretty up close. However, from the street, it completely disappeared because it was so dark. It was summarily removed. Now it hangs happily in my kitchen, on a white door that needs some contrast.

I know, the hanger still needs spray painting - bleh on brass finishes!

What do you think, better? Should I have left it on the front door? Um, nope.

Maybe some fake forsythia blooms will bring some better color to that front door. Unfortunately, I do not have any of those just lying around the house. Still, a purchase of some materials might be less expensive than a whole new wreath.

I'll keep you posted as I work on that project...lucky you!

Catering Chaos

Disclaimer: Doug and I are not professional caterers. In fact, we may never cater again...

Over the weekend, Doug and I catered our niece's wedding. We volunteered to do this way back in February (I know, volunteered?!?), and have been working on it pretty much ever since. Here's what we did, and what we learned:

Planning the Menu
Luckily, the bride is very sensible. She wanted an inexpensive, but elegant, sit-down meal. So we planned for a few pastas, a few different salads, an antipasta plate (cheeses, salami and olives), and some crostinis (toasted baguette slices) with toppings. Mmmm. The best part? Most of it could be made ahead. Good for a cook with five children. Who like to help. A lot.

Doesn't she look sensible, with her tiara and boa, at the bachelorette party?

Getting Nosy
Throughout this whole process, the bride put up with me constantly pelting her with reminders. (Have you mailed your invitations yet? Now? How about now?) And she still likes me, amazingly enough. Beginning 'o March, I sat her and her darling fiancee down and went through everything they would need or need to make decisions. Then they postponed the wedding. I felt horrible - did I scare them off with logistics? It turned out to be something completely unrelated - and unrelated to their devotion to one another - so whew! I was off the hook. And bugging her again (Have you got your marriage license? Have you decided about this? That? The other?)

Making the Food
At first, I thought I would make all thirty baguettes myself. Once you stop laughing, I have to tell you that I only made 13 loaves before I thought better of the idea. It didn't help that every time I made bread, the kids were snitching at least one loaf. One benefit: I now know which recipe I prefer...and those loaves I made were made into crostinis and frozen.

The croutons and pastas were pretty straight-forward and in the freezer. No worries there. The cheeses and salami were chopped up by Doug and bagged a few days before the wedding. I had mentioned to Doug that I was behind on them, and he put on his apron (the uncles called it "his skirt" at the wedding), and went to chopping. Ah, I love a man with knife skills.

Shopping: The Fun Part. Not.
Shopping is not my friend. My mother was a great shopper. I have several sisters that inherited that gene. Me? My eyes glaze over after about 10 minutes in a store, and I just wish that the whole shopping experience were over. Granted, this might have a little to do with the children that are always in tow, but not entirely - the glazed-over eyes happen even when they're not there. Although, that might be because all my other shopping is done in the evening hours after the kids have exhausted me.

Anyway. The bride agreed to have me do all the shopping and bill her later - instead of us trying to manage our schedules so we could go together. Yay! Costco was one of the places I started. Watch out for Costco, man. There are lots of things there that are not good deals. But I did get a lot of good deals, too. I found some pretty white plates with coral flowers (coral was one of the wedding colors) and was really excited about the find.

Then I went home. Doug took one look at those plates and said, "This is not a picnic, it's a wedding!". Back to the drawing board. Everything ended up being crystal, plastic (crystal look-alike), or sterling silver. Doug is a stickler when it comes to things like that. Okay, it did make everything look very elegant.

Borrowing: Love It!
Huge thanks are owed to my sister-in-law and my neighbor, both of whom came through for me in a big way. My SIL (who does actually cater) has two chafing dishes, and she offered them to me. What a woman. My neighbor offered to let me troll through her china and crystal and see what she had. Again, offered. Whoa. Another few excellent serving pieces.

There were a few online purchases for serving utensils and serving ware. The punch bowl arrived on Friday. It was close, but not too close. At least for me.

The Big Day: Setup
The day of the wedding dawned beautiful and sunny. The forecast was for 79 degrees and slightly windy. Not bad for outside - no bugs, not too hot.

Doug and I spent the morning prepping the fresh foods and making sure everything was over at the host's house. My niece got married in the backyard of her aunt (other side of the family). Their backyard was perfect for this kind of thing.

There was almost no decorating direction throughout the morning, due to the women in the bridal party getting mani/pedis and hairdos and whatnot. Doug was a little concerned, so he went over early. Smart. He noticed that it was windy. Really windy. Do we want dust and whatnot getting blown into the food? Or the food blowing about? No.

So he moved all the banquet tables for the food into the garage. Not the most photogenic place if you want really cool food pictures, but it will explain why there is a garage door in all the pictures. They also put the wedding cake in the garage, but had to move it out for pictures.

See? Not the best place for pictures.

When I arrived, the serving stuff was in the garage, but in serious disarray. With only an hour before the ceremony, I went into action. Sadly, there are no before pictures. But here's what it all looked like after it was set up:

The groom's mother made this beautiful fruit arrangement:

And I just realized the Caesar Salad is missing from that picture. Doug was probably getting it filled up in the kitchen. He ran the kitchen all night, which was sooo supportive of him.

The bruschetta, crostinis and antipastas looked quite attractive:

And here's the whole second table:

The forks were not in packages by the time guests arrived. I promise.

The pastas also looked (and smelled) delicious. There was the Mushroom Stroganoff:

And the Double-Cheese Sausage Penne:

Hard to call a winner between the two. There were people who loved each one. The sausage pasta was a little more gone by the end of the evening. Okay, enough about food. What about the wedding itself?!?!

The Big Day: the Ceremony
To understand this, you have to know that this party was a small group primarily composed of people belonging to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, also called Mormons. Most of the weddings we have all attended have been in temples, where there is no procession, no music, no clapping. Just the ceremony, simple and sacred.

So it was pretty funny to see us all, not really sure what to do. The procession started and the grandfather of the bride (my dad) started telling everyone to stand up. And like the lemmings that we are, we did. Or rather, some of us did. Then we sat back down as someone else started saying, "sit down!". Then the bride came out with her dad. And this time, we stood up without being told. Finally, we get something right.

Holding hands, isn't it precious? It was very windy, as you can see. It was also freezing. So we shivered while they were married:

Aww! Mr and Mrs:

And then we all escaped to the garage, where it was warm, and ate a good dinner. The bride and groom's first dance was a salsa number that they had obviously practiced, and was so sweet to watch. Sigh.

Lessons Learned
When doing dinner parties, my big thing is that I have to enjoy it. Otherwise, it's totally not worth the prep time. Ditto here - I tried very hard to get everything done ahead-of-time so that I could enjoy the wedding. And it worked, mostly. If I was doing it again, I would:

• Make sure all the veggies were washed the day before I had to chop them: I spent three hours the morning of just washing lettuce. Not the best use of time.
• Use larger serving utensils. I used small spatulas for serving the pastas. They were okay, but getting the pastas to stay on the spatula was an interesting endeavor.

Doug says we're never catering a wedding again. I say, it depends on the person, right?